Best tips when being bad at putting and then something for a statistician to look at...

[Deleted member 25172]

Putting is such a tough one to offer advice on because imo it is an area that needs to be much simpler than the rest of the game.. It is the strongest part of my game and always has been even when I have prolonged lay offs, my putting stroke slots back in straight away.

Even when we were at TM day last year, I got to play with Andy of me and my golf and he told me I have a very simple stroke and set up.

I learned to putt as kid when my dad used to leave me on the putting green whilst he was practicing. There was an old pro there at the time called Stan Barrow, real miserable old boy but a quirky sense of teaching he gave me 4 tips as a boy that always stuck and have been the base of my putting for years in keeping it simple.

1. Hold the putter so lightly it always feels heavy.
2. When practicing never put to a hole always putt to a small tee peg because the closer you get to the smaller target the bigger the hole becomes.
3. Your putting stroke is like your personality it's yours alone and let it be individually yours no matter what someone else's looks like don't copy or seek to change.
4. See don't think! By that he meant see what you want to achieve, see where you want the ball rolling don't think about anything just keep seeing.

As I said he was a quirky old bugger but those 4 things stuck with me so much that they're second nature. I couldn't even begin to describe my set up or stroke, I just know it feels the same now as it did when he gave me those odd little pearls of wisdom.

None of this helps the OP I'm guessing and is my mere ramblings. But perhaps the key really is to just stop, forget what you think you know and just let it flow.

May be ramblings, but think all the 4 things you’re pointing out would be hugely beneficial to a lot of people, including me to fall back on. Of course technical issues should be dealt with as well, but whilst out on the course playing, some simple reminders for yourself is always good to have instead of trying to force things. Like I do, which then takes its toll on the rest of the game as I get so irritated. Silly me.

I was a very good putter when I was younger.
In my job as a crane driver I needed good depth perception but when I underwent laser surgery on my eyes after the firm went to remote control cranes I couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo.
My eyesight changed so much that I could miss from 18 inches because I wasn’t aiming properly.
This for me is the number one fault in am golf.
So you start manipulating your swing/ stroke to suit your aim and it’s a mess.
I still have this now especially with irons I think I am aiming ok but am miles right.
Alignment sticks are all you need and some practice.
Practicing your misses is soul destroying so start short and listen to the sound of the ball going in the hole.

One thing we’re you fitted for your putter?
as a bad fit will have you fighting the stroke pattern.

Never been fitted for a putter. Afraid this thread will be the start of a expensive spring/summer to sort this whole issue.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As a thought and subject to what the OP has around, maybe a change of putter would make a change. I tend to use large mallet type (or an Odyssey #9 milled face) but sometimes going back to an Anser style I grew up with just frees the stroke a little bit

 

[Papas1982]

Mate, I'd defo advocate getting on a Sam Puttlab.

I'm still not a great putter, but have defo improved (shame the rest of game fell of a cliff).

When I went, the guy was amazed I holed anything. I would be open on way back one time, closed the next. I was "the most consistently inconsistent putter" he'd measured. I had 3 lessons and the change was night and day. I still lapse and due to comfort haven't stuck to exactly what I was showed, but the fundamentals I changed I've stick with.

Atm, with no results, what feels good at home may be awful on the course.

 

[clubchamp98]

May be ramblings, but think all the 4 things you’re pointing out would be hugely beneficial to a lot of people, including me to fall back on. Of course technical issues should be dealt with as well, but whilst out on the course playing, some simple reminders for yourself is always good to have instead of trying to force things. Like I do, which then takes its toll on the rest of the game as I get so irritated. Silly me.



Never been fitted for a putter. Afraid this thread will be the start of a expensive spring/summer to sort this whole issue.

Putter fitting is an eye opener.
Tour pros are usually .5 of a degree off.
Most ams nowhere near that.
But at .5 dead weight you start missing at 12 ft.
For us mortals it’s much shorter.
People think nothing of ££££; for a driver but putting makes your day.
I would start there.
Dosnt have to be that expensive, but a nice new fitted putter might be the catalyst.

 

[Deleted member 25172]

Mate, I'd defo advocate getting on a Sam Puttlab.

I'm still not a great putter, but have defo improved (shame the rest of game fell of a cliff).

When I went, the guy was amazed I holed anything. I would be open on way back one time, closed the next. I was "the most consistently inconsistent putter" he'd measured. I had 3 lessons and the change was night and day. I still lapse and due to comfort haven't stuck to exactly what I was showed, but the fundamentals I changed I've stick with.

Atm, with no results, what feels good at home may be awful on the course.

Putter fitting is an eye opener.
Tour pros are usually .5 of a degree off.
Most ams nowhere near that.
But at .5 dead weight you start missing at 12 ft.
For us mortals it’s much shorter.
People think nothing of ££££; for a driver but putting makes your day.
I would start there.
Dosnt have to be that expensive, but a nice new fitted putter might be the catalyst.

And here was me thinking that I was gonna buy a new shiny set of irons this season. Guess it’ll be a putter instead and putter lessons instead.

 

[Deleted member 25172]

I have this guy 15 min away from me. Anyone ever heard of him?
https://www.jamesjankowskigolf.com/

He’s not using Sam Puttlab but from what I understand it’s something similar.

Happy to get recommendations on other putter fitters as well around London area.

 

[sunshine]

Standard response on the forum, buy new kit

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Putter fitting is an eye opener.
Tour pros are usually .5 of a degree off.
Most ams nowhere near that.
But at .5 dead weight you start missing at 12 ft.
For us mortals it’s much shorter.
People think nothing of ££££; for a driver but putting makes your day.
I would start there.
Dosnt have to be that expensive, but a nice new fitted putter might be the catalyst.

I'm not arguing with the maths or physics but that relies on a perfect putting surface which unfortunately we seldom get.

 

[sunshine]

I have this guy 15 min away from me. Anyone ever heard of him?
https://www.jamesjankowskigolf.com/

He’s not using Sam Puttlab but from what I understand it’s something similar.

Happy to get recommendations on other putter fitters as well around London area.

He's very popular, heard excellent things about him. People talk about him like he's a mythical guru (in a good way)

 

[clubchamp98]

I'm not arguing with the maths or physics but that relies on a perfect putting surface which unfortunately we seldom get.

Totally get what your saying .
But if you can’t start the ball online it makes it more difficult.
It’s just one of the variables.

 

[pendodave]

I’ve been practising 6 footers in the bedroom the last week and have had periods where I’ve literally missed about 20-25 in a row. What is it with the brain that make this happen, cause once it’s over, I’m back to being just “normally” bad, holing about 55-60% of these putts.

Part of the title of this thread refers to stats. I'm not a statistician, but.... It's my observation that golfers don't really understand the chance of things happening in the first place, and definitely don't understand the chance of that happening over a period of time. This matters for two or three reasons.
Firstly they might follow inappropriate strategies during their round, secondly they might follow inappropriate strategies during practice, and thirdly they might get upset by their performance due to entirely inappropriate expectations and then go on to perform even worse because they get peed off.

Putting is a good example. Most golfers think they should hole far more putts than they should. The average for tour players is around 50% for a 7 footer. I suspect for ams it is around 5ft, but I can't verify it. There would therefore only a be 12.5% chance that someone holes three 5 footers in a row, but some people would be chuntering and losing focus if they missed one.
Similarly with the "I holed nothing all day" brigade. If you leave yourself 10 15ft putts (probably about a 10% success rate), you have a 35% chance of missing every single one, so not that unusual really.
Sadly, like most golfers, I remember this when I'm sat drinking coffee and not when I'm missing putts...

 

[Deleted member 25172]

He's very popular, heard excellent things about him. People talk about him like he's a mythical guru (in a good way)

Great stuff! We’ll see what this guru says then when we’re back out there, if I can book him that is.

 

[Deleted member 25172]

Part of the title of this thread refers to stats. I'm not a statistician, but.... It's my observation that golfers don't really understand the chance of things happening in the first place, and definitely don't understand the chance of that happening over a period of time. This matters for two or three reasons.
Firstly they might follow inappropriate strategies during their round, secondly they might follow inappropriate strategies during practice, and thirdly they might get upset by their performance due to entirely inappropriate expectations and then go on to perform even worse because they get peed off.

Putting is a good example. Most golfers think they should hole far more putts than they should. The average for tour players is around 50% for a 7 footer. I suspect for ams it is around 5ft, but I can't verify it. There would therefore only a be 12.5% chance that someone holes three 5 footers in a row, but some people would be chuntering and losing focus if they missed one.
Similarly with the "I holed nothing all day" brigade. If you leave yourself 10 15ft putts (probably about a 10% success rate), you have a 35% chance of missing every single one, so not that unusual really.
Sadly, like most golfers, I remember this when I'm sat drinking coffee and not when I'm missing putts...

I should perhaps have added a smiley to the title, as it wasn’t 100% serious. I just find it a bit extreme when you find yourself in these spells like described earlier, talking about the same 5-7 footers, not 10-15 footers.
I’d never dream of holing the latter with 1 putt.

 

[clubchamp98]

Part of the title of this thread refers to stats. I'm not a statistician, but.... It's my observation that golfers don't really understand the chance of things happening in the first place, and definitely don't understand the chance of that happening over a period of time. This matters for two or three reasons.
Firstly they might follow inappropriate strategies during their round, secondly they might follow inappropriate strategies during practice, and thirdly they might get upset by their performance due to entirely inappropriate expectations and then go on to perform even worse because they get peed off.

Putting is a good example. Most golfers think they should hole far more putts than they should. The average for tour players is around 50% for a 7 footer. I suspect for ams it is around 5ft, but I can't verify it. There would therefore only a be 12.5% chance that someone holes three 5 footers in a row, but some people would be chuntering and losing focus if they missed one.
Similarly with the "I holed nothing all day" brigade. If you leave yourself 10 15ft putts (probably about a 10% success rate), you have a 35% chance of missing every single one, so not that unusual really.
Sadly, like most golfers, I remember this when I'm sat drinking coffee and not when I'm missing putts...

Yes I agree , that’s me every Saturday.
But I have been told “ it’s part of your green fees to have a moan.”

 

[apj0524]

I had a spell for a couple of seasons where I was barely able to start moving the putter back to start the stroke due to extreme tension in the hands which was borderline full on yips.

Found a workaround by not grounding the putter but was not able to hole anything at all.

Eventually had a couple of sessions with our at the time new pro using SAM putting lab. Technichally my stroke had become dreadful, taking it back outside and cutting across it while also adding loft at impact. Depending how my hands manipuated the clubhose on a given putt I could miss either side from anything over 3 feet. My aim was piss poor as well.

We did a total rebuild, going back to orthodox grip (I had putted left hand low for a few years but the numbers on the SAM lab were better orthodox), got some arc into the stoke and put a Garsen grip on my putter which helped to lock my wrists and forearms and prevent the handsy flick which added loft at impact.

Putt very nicely again now because I know my stroke is solid and my brain is not thinking negatively, previously moving the putter was my main thought standing over the ball.

Address the technical side and you will see improvements.

Practice from closer range where you can't miss and slowly work back. Stop if you start missing a few, nothing worse than practicing missing.

I can recommend a Visio putting template, I use the one with an arc and face lines. Always use it when practicing putting to ensure stroke is working on correct path.

Question regarding the Visio putting template, how did you know what arc to purchase? I have the Ping putting App on my phone and it shows I have a Slight Arc, but 12, 15 or 18 degrees??

Thanks

 

[Blue in Munich]

I should perhaps have added a smiley to the title, as it wasn’t 100% serious. I just find it a bit extreme when you find yourself in these spells like described earlier, talking about the same 5-7 footers, not 10-15 footers.
I’d never dream of holing the latter with 1 putt.

Maybe that's part of the problem; I never believe I'll miss one of those when I'm over it. I try to work on the Dave Stockton mantra that "I've never met a putt that I can't make". Obviously I don't make all of them but I hole more than my fair share according to those I play with.

Technique? I'm very much for the rocking shoulders with my upper arms against my sides & trying to make the lower arms and the putter shaft as close to a straight line as possible (see Stan Utley, who also suggests a longer putter). To do that I play my putter at 37" cut shaft length, with a large grip & try to keep the grip pressure as light as is reasonable. Putter is a centre shaft because of eye dominance, so I have no offset. I'm playing around with face balanced & slight toe hang to see which I prefer.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Question regarding the Visio putting template, how did you know what arc to purchase? I have the Ping putting App on my phone and it shows I have a Slight Arc, but 12, 15 or 18 degrees??

Thanks

I got the 15 degree with face lines after using this one after using it during the sessions with my pro.

I think this one is the most commonly sold so probably best starting point.

 

[Wilson]

I’d also suggest finding a pro that has SAM Puttlab, my putting was the worst part of my game, didn’t hole anywhere enough enough birdie putts - had a couple of lessons on it, the first on SAM looking at putter/setup/stroke, and then one on line/pace, with some pressure games too. My putting has been much better since, still need to practice, and trust the line on the ball as it feels way off when it isn’t.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Question regarding the Visio putting template, how did you know what arc to purchase? I have the Ping putting App on my phone and it shows I have a Slight Arc, but 12, 15 or 18 degrees??

Thanks

This is a good starting point. I spoke to my pro and showed him my stroke and asked what he thought (12 degree as I also have just a slight curve). Also as I tend to use a large stable putter (2 ball v-line fang) so quite a back and through with just a slight arc. Even if I use my odyssey #9 or Ping Anser they are still very shallow. The lines make it very easy to follow in square in

 

[sunshine]

Part of the title of this thread refers to stats. I'm not a statistician, but.... It's my observation that golfers don't really understand the chance of things happening in the first place, and definitely don't understand the chance of that happening over a period of time. This matters for two or three reasons.
Firstly they might follow inappropriate strategies during their round, secondly they might follow inappropriate strategies during practice, and thirdly they might get upset by their performance due to entirely inappropriate expectations and then go on to perform even worse because they get peed off.

Putting is a good example. Most golfers think they should hole far more putts than they should. The average for tour players is around 50% for a 7 footer. I suspect for ams it is around 5ft, but I can't verify it. There would therefore only a be 12.5% chance that someone holes three 5 footers in a row, but some people would be chuntering and losing focus if they missed one.
Similarly with the "I holed nothing all day" brigade. If you leave yourself 10 15ft putts (probably about a 10% success rate), you have a 35% chance of missing every single one, so not that unusual really.
Sadly, like most golfers, I remember this when I'm sat drinking coffee and not when I'm missing putts...

Really good post.

There are some caveats though:
Are pros playing to trickier pin positions so harder to hole out?
On the other hand, I find it much easier to putt on quick tournament greens with a lovely true roll.
The odds of holing a 10 footer straight up hill are significantly shorter than a curving downhill 10 footer, stats never show the full story!
And practising 6 footers in your bedroom: it's the same putt. After a few goes I'd expect to hole 90%+